Thought of
the week.

“What makes Abrahamic monotheism different is that it believes there is an answer to the question, why. Neither the universe nor human life is meaningless, an accident, a mere happenstance. As Freud, Einstein, and Wittgenstein all said, religious faith is faith in the meaningfulness of life.” -The Great Partnership from Rabbi Jonathan…

Masks. We all wear them. Sometimes, it’s to protect ourselves; sometimes it’s to fool others into thinking we are someone we aren’t; sometimes it’s due to fear of judgement and shame. Personally, throughout my life I have worn a mask many times because I feared that if you really knew me,…

Recently, I was reading a speech made by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in July, 2006 at an Israel solidarity rally. This was at a time when Israel was stuck fighting in both Gaza and Lebanon—something that almost 18 years later is continuing to happen. The Oslo accords, while a great effort…

Here’s a question that’s been on my mind: Am I responsible for my brother’s actions? For that matter, what exactly is my responsibility in protecting my fellow from both harming themselves or harming us– or for that matter, me? There is a saying in Judaism which says, “Don’t rebuke the…

Moses and Aaron were both brothers and leaders of the Jewish people, yet they couldn’t have been more opposite. Moses was a man of truth and justice and black and white, while Aaron on the other hand, was a man of peace, mediation, and compromise.  When I think of Aaron,…

I had an insightful conversation with a friend yesterday regarding what we can do when tragedy hits us. Specifically, we were discussing family members of people who suicided (by the way, I hate that word, and I wish we could come up with a different one.) The answer—over and over…

“It is only by becoming builders that we turn from subjects to citizens.” -Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Most of us find commonality in our past, our history, and our experience. An alcoholic can generally understand another alcoholic, and someone who has suffered a specific trauma can often relate to others who…

I have two ideas which I want to discuss; on the surface, they don’t seem to be connected, yet I believe if we take a deeper look from a slightly different angle, the connection is undeniable. First let’s look at the difference between shame and guilt. The message we take…

  One of my favorite parts of Judaism is that it encourages us to question, to doubt, to grapple, to seek, and to find the deeper meaning. This doesn’t give us permission to not follow the rules, yet it gives us permission to question them. Judaism challenges us to not…

In the Torah portion of the week, one of the greatest miracles in the history of the world is discussed. This miracle is the splitting of the Red Sea.  Many have spent time trying to prove that this could have been an act of nature and not a miracle, which…